Building diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging into storytelling requires intentionally balancing broad-scale cultural and political ideas, institutional strategies and values, student, faculty, staff and alumni ambitions for telling their stories, and audience needs and expectations.

How can storytellers balance all these factors to produce stories that serve society, the institution, audiences, and the people who share their stories with us?

In this case study, we explore how race, socioeconomic status, and other identity categories intersect with institutional diversity, equity and inclusion priorities and brand storytelling goals through the production of a story by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Office of Advancement.